With the support of the Gattung Foundation, we hosted a special performance of The Writer for students from low-decile schools across Tāmaki Makaurau — all tickets were provided free of charge, in addition to financial support for transport costs, thanks to this generous donation.

Silo's programme manager hosted a Q&A after the performance, which included statements from playwright Ella Hickson and director Sophie Roberts, and an opportunity for the students to korero with cast about their careers, symbolism within the work, and ultimately the message behind the play.

Following the Q&A members of the cast and Silo team were able to engage one-on-one with several of the teachers in attendance, as well as some of the students to discuss their experiences.

After returning to the classroom, we received incredible feedback and mini-reviews from the students. Their insightful, incisive commentary is published below:

— The Writer was amazing — aggressive, assertive, and provocative. It evoked a great deal of emotion from me in deconstructing the major societal issues we face today: predominantly sexism. The piece brought me to reflect on how I perceive the patriarchy, and how I view the inherently human pursuit of power. The set was designed immaculately, especially (in my opinion) the abstract forest scene set. The acting was flawless — all the actors were amazingly talented!

— Meta. This is the word I would use for this play. I didn't know what was real in the piece, what the structure was going for, and the messages it was sending in these contrasting scenes. Like how in the beginning, everything the two characters talk about is referenced throughout the play. Like the patriarchy of men and how they are dominant in relationships and are just lustful bastards. The scene with the writer and the boyfriend shows the boyfriend's dominance over the writer, specifically in the bad sexual encounter where the male got off and the writer got nothing. However, when the writer and the girlfriend have their moment, the writer holds the power throughout the scene. Again represented in similar ways in the sex scene where one out of the two was not that into it. This shows it's not the patriarch of males or females. It just shows power is the patriarchy. The start excellently foreshadows the whole piece without you knowing.

— For someone who hasn’t been to any type of theatre like this, I loved how this was acted out and written. It made me question many of the aspects, like the general plot, some of the scenes, and the themes especially. The acting was insanely good, especially considering the scenes they had to act; they played out their characters so well. The sets were so beautiful. It made me think alot about patriarchy and how most people can be just as bad as the next.

— My feedback for this show was it was very unique - you could tell everything was put together purposely and well crafted; it was a beautiful piece of art. Although there were a lot of scenes that I couldn't put my finger on what it was to mean but as I was on my trip home, I had a lot of time to think about the conception of the play and how they wanted to portray it. I saw it as a powerful hold and the life of a writer and how it can sometimes be and questioning their sexuality.
It definitely went into depth about every aspect of the writer's life. This definitely made me question political issues about gender inequality in today's world.

— Visually, the piece was absolutely stunning. Especially the forest scene. The set design mixed with superb acting skills engaged my emotions and left me with many questions and thoughts. The themes of patriarchy and dominance were interesting, relevant and thought-provoking. It made our entire class discuss how society is flawed.

— The message I learnt from the play was how feminism and the rights of equality should be treated seriously and not as a joke. And how women should have their say in things and should not be shut down. I liked the introduction to the play as I found the points the girl was making strong and deep.

— I really enjoyed the show. It made me think about the deeper meanings. I enjoyed the first scene where Ash and the other guy were yelling. This scene really made me feel. I understood where her anger was coming from and why she was feeling that way. I was perplexed during parts.

— The play did make me quite uncomfortable at times but I think it’s because I got to see a glimpse of the real world and how much of the patriarchy is built around white men.

— I think it was great, and that it is important for our women directors' voices to be heard.

We also had some brilliant feedback from our teachers, who explained how the work has impacted their students, and how they're exploring the play back in the classroom:

— The show was incredibly thought-provoking for our rangatahi as well as me. We spent the entire period unpacking parts, and the most remarkable thing was them finding peace in different interpretations and not having to be correct. Such a big thing for teenagers to have the right answer, so sitting in a deep conversation and holding space for everyone to have their own opinions, perspectives, understandings etc was incredible. So much of schooling can be about test results, learning outcomes and having to be right. Theatre is so magical in that it can be just what it wants to be for each audience member.

— So interesting that we were still talking about stuff today. We went into topics about judgement, growth, and lack of growth. And our privileges, acknowledgement of where we are positioned in society. Are these positions imposed or inherited? Do we have guilt with these or do we use them to benefit ourselves, and others? What if you are a white man but gay, does this effect where you are in the systemic structures of power? What was it like 25 years ago for gay white men? Will it ever change for women of colour?

— The discussions have certainly been robust and we have taken away some strong ideas from seeing the show. After two classes of unpacking ideas and breaking down the structure of the play, the girls actually came away with some brilliant thoughts and observations about challenging the patriarchal expectations that we have of other women in the workplace.

— It was an amazingly challenging showing – we’re all still unpacking and talking about the show at school today - I’m sure we’ll be having great discussions about it leading up to the exams as well.

Thanks again to the Gattung Foundation for supporting this performance; we love sharing our work with young people, and it's incredibly rewarding to hear how our work has impacted how they view the world. If you'd like to support Silo's school outreach with a financial donation, please contact Chloe Weavers — chloe@silotheatre.co.nz or call 09 369 5783